Linyanti Wildlife Reserve newsletters – November 2025

November saw much colour and life returning to the trees as we received some rain – though compared to last year it seems like a lot less. Temperatures were very comfortable for most of the month, though there were days when the heat felt like we were back in October. 

Temperatures & rainfall for November

The lowest temperature of the month was 17° C, while highs ranged between 32° C and 36° C. The highest rainfall received was 27mm on one day – and even this small amount has been enough to make a noticeable and beautiful change to the landscape. 

Savuti wildlife 

The rains have seen the huge herds of elephants that visit the front of camp to disperse to other water sources and puddles, though one or two elephants were still seen coming to have a drink from the waterhole where we have a log-pile hide.

Lions were occasionally heard roaring during the night, but their presence slowly became more distant, their calls started to fade and sightings became less frequent.

 
Birds & birding

With it being summer and migratory bird season, we hosted a few birders and photographers looking to see what they could capture. Guests would leave pleased with the variety of birds they had spotted – from beautiful carmine bee-eaters flying alongside the vehicles, opportunistically hawking insects flying up out of the grass, and iconic lilac-breasted rollers posing on branches or flying off and showing their beautiful blue wings, to woodland kingfishers with their amazingly blue plumage that matches the Botswana flag, and bateleur eagles soaring high the sky on its massive wings. There were naturally also many others that filled the morning air with their melodious sounds.

 
The carmine bee-eaters are an intra-African migratory species and they come through to nest in a huge colony every year near our sister camp, King’s Pool. Our guests requested to drive to the colony for the opportunity to spend some time taking in their dazzling beauty.

 
Camp news

Being a fairly quiet month, staff focused on maintenance and deep cleaning in an effort to get ready for the next busy season. And as the Christmas party and competition is approaching, the excitement could be felt all throughout the month – from football and volleyball tournaments against the Concession teams, to choir practices and decorating our camp Christmas tree.

Savuti newsletter compiled by Sasha Wright

Summer arrives in the Linyanti

As we know, at this time of year the Linyanti Wildlife Reserve transforms into a lush and vibrant landscape frequently shaped by rain. The season is marked by hot humid days that eventually end with dramatic thunderstorms and vivid lightning displays. We are grateful that the Linyanti has now turned into a green and thriving wilderness, bringing a sense of renewal to our beautiful private concession.

Wildlife around Linyanti Tented Camp

The rainy season brings a dramatic transformation to the wildlife of Linyanti, as summer rains soak the floodplains and woodlands, and fresh vegetation spreads across the landscapes, creating abundant food and water for the animals. We have also watched the birdlife flourishing, with migratory species arriving across the Linyanti.

There has not been much activity around our camp with the abundance of water and greenery seeing the animals scattered. However, many of our camp residents that had left are now back! The squirrels are highly entertaining, of late, a slender mongoose has been coming around as well.

There are lots of sweet little geckos of different colours and sizes seen in and around camp, while a water monitor lizard enjoys sun basking next to the swimming pool at LTC East Camp. Evidence of a big snake has been noted at the management units.

A red lechwe that we have named Bonte passes by the office

Spotted this male lion on the main road just outside camp

Birds & birding

The dense green vegetation of the season provides excellent nesting sites that are now newly occupied. We have also seen the number of African jacanas around our main area increase. Another common bird is the red-billed spurfowl, seen in flocks all around camp.

LTC staff news

An ongoing guide training initiative commenced in mid-November. The guides are in camp for rifle training, which also gave the managers the opportunity to shoot at a few targets and help hype the guides to take the opportunity to build their teams. The training is scheduled to be completed by 7 December. Wishing them all the best!

The Christmas spirit has already infiltrated camp! We are all busy practicing for our Christmas game competitions, with the most exciting being creating the best Christmas tree, to compete with all our camps. This is the first time LTC has competed in the Christmas tree competition, and everyone is working really hard to make an impression!

We have also had the pleasure of working with Girlie, the Training Manager for the Linyanti.

Managers in Camp: Olly, Kgotso, Brie, Girlie & Chawa (Camp Admin)

LTC newsletter compiled by Brie